In six short days, we will find out how tough this Geno Smith is, in every possible way, how he responds to the adversity that awaits him, how he gets up and dusts himself off when his nose is bloodied.
Good luck, kid, you’ll need it.
You’ll get a honeymoon period, don’t you worry, for the simple reason you are not Mark Sanchez, who went from Dead Quarterback Walking to Dead Quarterback Watching because Jets coach Rex Ryan decided it would be a good idea to see what his once-beloved quarterback would look like as a rag doll as opposed to a tattoo on his arm.
There is no need for Ryan to name a winner of the quarterback competition, because it is moot. If he declares Sanchez the winner, that devalues Smith in the eyes of his teammates, and gets him off on the wrong foot with the one player he will need to save his job. If he declares Smith the winner, that only adds insult to the injury he caused Sanchez.
Sanchez starting the season while Smith polished his craft would have been the preferred option, but the competition was deemed close enough by those itching to get on with a new era, knowing full well Sanchez had no future here anyway. Oftentimes, a virtual tie goes to the incumbent, but not when the incumbent gives the ball away 52 times in two seasons and has given no indication he has broken old habits.
It would be grossly unfair to the rookie quarterback to expect him to be some kind of savior. Do not expect Smith to step off the bus throwing strikes like the football Matt Harvey. Do not expect him to light up our town the way Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson lit up theirs. The Jets haven’t had a miracle worker at the position since Broadway Joe.
It’s a prestigious job, quarterback of the New York Jets.
It is also an unforgiving job, in an unforgiving place, a veritable Bermuda Triangle for a quarterback not named Namath.
Since Namath, no Jets quarterback has lasted 10 years at the controls. The Giants have had two — Phil Simms and Eli Manning.
A Be Careful What You Wish For Jets quarterback refresher course:
RICHARD TODD: New York was the absolute worst place for Todd. Like Namath, he was a first-round draft choice out of Alabama. Unlike Namath, Todd had to follow a legend. He lacked the armadillo skin necessary.
MATT ROBINSON: Had the moxie, but not the talent. Won a quarterback controversy with Todd, then lost the job after one game because he injured his thumb during hotel horseplay and lied to coach Walt Michaels about it.
KEN O’BRIEN: A surprise first-round pick over someone named Dan Marino. A good quarterback with an accurate arm who was sabotaged by a porous offensive line that often left him resembling Joe Frazier in Jamaica against George Foreman.
BROWNING NAGLE: The 1991 second-round draft choice who became general manager Dick Steinberg’s choice after the Falcons had beaten him to someone named Brett Favre. The Browning Rifle, we called him. Broadway Browning, I called him in 1992. We were quickly reminded that playing quarterback requires more than a Rocket Clemens arm. A year later, the quarterback was Boomer Esiason.
BOOMER ESIASON: Peerless leader, Local Boy Made Good in Cincinnati story. Perfect temperament for New York. Just not the quarterback he once was.
NEIL O’DONNELL: The $25 million free agent and Super Bowl runner-up in Pittsburgh who learned quickly that money doesn’t buy happiness. The lowlight was injuring his calf during preseason warmups. There weren’t many highlights — he was not the leader and battlefield commander Bill Parcells demanded.
GLENN FOLEY: Parcells loved his moxie, fire and fearlessness. Just too fragile, and not ready to be the face of a franchise.
VINNY TESTAVERDE: The Local Boy who made good! Flourished under Parcells, who reminded him of his father. What a gentleman, and what an arm! Thirty minutes away from taking his hometown team to the Super Bowl. Ruptured his Achilles in his next game, the 1999 opener, and was never the same.
CHAD PENNINGTON: One of four first-round draft choices in 2000. Sat for two years and resembled The Natural when he took over from Testaverde. Fiery leader and a Rhodes scholar who beat you with his brains and his will. Just lacked a major league arm to scare Bill Belichick and outgun Tom Brady, and durability.
KELLEN CLEMENS: A second-round draft choice who was supposed to be coach Eric Mangini’s quarterback. Didn’t have the goods. If he had, Favre never would have been a Jet.
BRETT FAVRE: Until his arm broke down in December, much more than a starry-eyed gambit by Woody Johnson. Then he threw away the division, hit on Jenn Sterger, and “retired” again before signing with the Vikings.
MARK SANCHEZ: It was love at first sight for Rex Ryan. Not so much for Mangini, who let the Jets trade up to the fifth spot in the 2009 draft to secure their Quarterback of the Present and Future. You know the rest, and here we are.
GENO SMITH: The second-round draft choice of rookie general manager John Idzik. His chance to end the endless merry-go-round.
Go get ’em, kid.
P.S.: Don’t throw the ball anywhere near Darrelle Revis.